Compassion and Mindfulness

Gather round, chilluns! It's storytime!

Just wanted to share an experience on my spiritual journey. For those unfamiliar with Buddhism, the work we do in meditation and in daily life is focused on expanding love and compassion for all living things, thereby working to eliminate delusions that distract from the clarity of the Buddha mind, i.e., anger, attachment to things in our current life, fear, stress. In meditation we let go of these things and reach a state of peace and clarity filled with love for all beings; this is my understanding of what Buddha mind is. And we work towards cultivating that all the time in daily life.

I had an experience a couple Sundays ago that illuminated the difference in myself from before I started exploring the Buddhist tradition and after. It was after Sunday services, and I was walking my puppy outside of my fiancee's (and now mine too) apartment. I was only paying attention to walking the dog and not freezing my buns off, when I heard a small voice behind me say, "Sir, could I get some help?"

I turned and saw a small boy walking down the parking lot towards the trash dumpster, struggling with a double armful of loose papers, grocery bags full of trash, and dropping pieces of it everywhere. So in what Im sure would have been comical to watch, I jogged over, dragging Rocky by the leash behind me, and started picking up the loose trash behind the boy. His sister came up behind us to help as well. The wind was blowing the stuff everywhere, and I found myself laughing at the spectacle of me trying to corral a high-energy puppy, prevent him from jumping on the boy, pick up the trash, drop the trash, watch the wind blow the trash, pick it up again. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

About this time I noticed a long white Cadillac driving slowly behind the two children. following them to the dumpster, with their grandmother (?) inside. I dismissed the car immediately and just felt filled with this brilliant joy in the simple pleasure of helping someone out of compassion.

We finally made it to the dumpster, and the boy and his sister thanked me. The gradnmother remained in the car.

As I was walking back to the apartment (ok, jogging...I couldnt feel my hands by this time), I stood outside of myself and observed the experience. In the past, I would have been filled with questions such as, why were these children being made to walk in the cold while their grandmother rode behind in a heated car? And I would have been angry at this injustice. But all I felt now was a compassion for the children and the clear joy of helping someone in need.

So I took from it that the practice Ive been doing in meditation and mindfulness has produced definite results. And I carried that joy and light with me for several days afterward. It's truly a positive motivation to continue, and confirmation for myself that I'm on the right path for me.

Peace,

Brandon

Exploring a Creed Part Deux

"Suppose a man were wounded by an arrow, and when the surgeon arrived, he said to him, "Don't pull out this arrow until I know who shot it, what tree it comes from, who made it, and what kind of bow was used." Certainly the man would die before he discovered the answers. In the same way, if you say you will not be a monk unless I solve all the questions of the world, you are likely to die unsatisfied."

Majjhima Nikaya

Well, it's been awhile since I posted more spiritual meanderings, so here goes.

Last time I brought up the Divine, I was attempting to get back to the roots of the traditon I was raised in, Roman Catholicism. This was kicked off by reading some Joseph Campbell and doing some yoga and a realization that I really did like some things about being Catholic. The meditative aspect of the rituals and symbols was giving me some peace, and the specific Church I was going to provided a great experience, even so much so that my non-Christian leading lady was enjoying it and being moved by it. I went because I wanted to pick up a spiritual path again.

But once again the questions and doubts arose. I was having serious issues with the idea of getting married in the Church and being forced to drag up the details of my previous marriage and my lady's as well for the approval/disapproval of a hierarchy consisting of people we'd never met before. And the more I saw right-wing Christians in the media spreading judgement and fear instead of the love and compassion that is supposed to be the nature of Divinity, the more I just wanted to wash my hands of the whole thing. I think Christianity used to be about one's personal relationship with Jesus Christ/God, but now it has become a rallying point for conservative politics and it's goal has become legislating a certain morality onto the rest of the country, including people who don't share those beliefs.

And then I heard on NPR about a former Pentecostal preacher who was excommunicated from his church because he stopped believing and preaching in Hell and started preaching an inclusive Gospel. He started his own church, and everyone is welcome to accept the love of God without this idea of a loving beneficial God that will throw you into eternal hellfire for eternity of you don't believe every literal word of a 2500 year old book. The pews are full of every ethnicity and sexuality and is regularly visited by Buddhist monks and folks from other faiths. And I thought "YES!" That's what it's supposed to be about. Sadly, any expression of a love that pure is considered the fringe of Christian belief. And it's not keeping butts in the pews; without the fear of eternal torment this new church is really struggling with staying afloat. It seems that without Hell the whole system just falls apart.

How about a path where you love the Divine instead of fearing Him?

So I've been questing around again, and meanwhile several friends have remarked of my bent towards "extreme moderation" as Franklin put it. I've always been able to see all sides of an argument, been slow to anger, respectful of others' spirituality, and tried to live in moderation, a Middle Way if you will. I look for the good in others and try to find common ground. Someone very special suggested I look into Buddhism, considering all these traits. So I did.

I found everything I've always believed, how I've always tried to act, and goals for my life that I've always wanted in the writings of the Dalai Lama, Ajahn Chah, and others. With an openness renewed by Campbell's explanations of mythology and spirituality, I went to my first Buddhist event last Monday, a discussion of a book by the spiritual leader of the Rameshori Budddhist center here in Atlanta. Then my lady and I checked out the regular Sunday service at the center, which was actually replaced by a day workshop on the power of prayer. It made me realize how much Ive always struggled with prayer, never knew what to say or how to say it, other than the things I learned by rote. But suddenly I felt so at home, spiritually, somewhere in a way that I've never experienced.

For the first time, when I think about the spiritual path I'm on, I am smiling. Actually, I've been smiling most all of the time since Sunday. I'll tell you more about why next time.

Cheers!

B.

Ok Everyone Take a Deep Breath...

I've always been the type of guy who has friends from every walk of life. Every political viewpoint, economic background, and faith tradition is represented in my circle of friends and family. Living in the South, a large portion of them voted for McCain. My words to them are: RELAX! Every gut instinct I have is telling me the new guy in charge is a conciliatory type of guy who is used to reaching compromises. I truly believe he will govern from the center. This is the first time in decades that the Democrats have been in control in the Congress, Senate and the Presidency. Let's give them a chance.

The Republican Party has lost it's identity as a party of limited government and fiscal responsibility. They need time to regroup and reinvent themselves.. In the meantime, the country is not going to go to hell, I promise. There are still checks and balances, Republicans can still filibuster if things go too far left.

Everything comes in cycles. I've heard people complain about Obama's lack of experience, but I think it's not necessarily a bad thing. Washington needs a fresh set of eyes to cast upon the problems we face in this country; I think this is the closest thing to a "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" scenario we are likely to get.

We have lived under the politics of fear for eight years. Bush and his cohorts have tried to make us fear terrorists, socialists, and anything different from what we've done so far. The reason the Republicans lost is that Americans are tired of being afraid and we prefer to hope.
I'll leave you by revisiting a quote from Winston Churchill I've used here before. I think it's even more appropriate now:

"You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after they've tried everything else."

Ok...Just One More, Promise

This Gives Me Hope for My Fellow Southerners...

It Wouldn't Be Us If We Didn't...

The Moment of Truth

I love you, kitten.